Post date: Dec 14, 2013 10:47:53 AM
Nelson Mandela's neighbours in his childhood village of Qunu say they feel left out of the former South African president's funeral, where hundreds of dignitaries will join family and friends for a special ceremony led by Archbishop Tutu on Sunday.
QUNU, SOUTH AFRICA (DECEMBER 14, 2013) (REUTERS) - The Eastern Cape is the final leg of the 10-day mourning of Nelson Mandela's passing, and his body is expected to land in Mthatha at around 1300 local time (1100gmt), although timings are changing regularly.
A ceremony involving a gun salute as well as a tribal welcoming of the body and spirit of Mandela by the Aba Thembu King Dalindyebo is due to unfurl shortly after the landing.The hearse is then to drive through the town to give the people of the Eastern Cape a chance to bid farewell.
But in his ancestral home of Qunu, residents and Mandela neighbours feel left out. Not only were they not invited to the funeral, large screen have been erected in various hamlets to try and stop people from coming to the roadside to see the hearse.
"Tata Mandela is a man of the people. When he was alive we used to go to his compound. Whatever was going on, when they hosted various ceremonies, we used to go in the compound and it was never a problem for the people of Qunu. And today he is dead and we are being pushed out," said Malibongwe Gamakhulu, a Qunu resident.
A teenage neighbour, Banele Mange, remembers Mandela coming to the village to give children toys and is bemused as to why he should now not be allowed to go to the funeral.
"I am saddened because we have been going there for a very long time and he used to give us toys" said 14-year-old Mange.
Whilst Mr Nyawuza, says Mandela belongs to Qunu and Mvezo, his birthplace, not Johannesburgwhere the memorial was held.
"I am sad because we are from here, we are his neighbours and we stay with him. We were supposed to be go in first (at the funeral). They can't just let people from Gauteng (Johannesburgprovince) in and leave us outside, here, as his neighbours. That saddens us very much," Nyawuzatold Reuters.
Roads were due to close overnight to stop an overflow of crowds but were still open early in the morning with little traffic. Local security guards and soldiers posted at road blocks said they were still unclear when they would close off the city.